The present invention relates to an answer system for technical support and a technical support method to furnish technical services to a user via a telecommunication network.
Conventionally, as technical support for a user, direct support performed by engineers who are sent to the field, or indirect support which is performed by furnishing of technical documents or answer papers to inquiry form the user, has been carried out. As an example of the indirect support for a user, the furnishing of technical documents to an operator or a maintenance engineer, or the answering to an inquiry from the operator or the maintenance engineer, is generally performed in the following procedures.
(1) A person in a charge in a business department of a power-generating facility maker receives a request for technical documents, or a technical inquiry, from a user of a power plant by means of visiting, telephoning, facsimile, or mailing.
(2) The person in a charge in the business department communicates the contents of the request or the technical inquiry to a person in a charge in a technical department of the central office by the above-mentioned means.
(3) The person in a charge in the technical department confirms contents of the request or the technical inquiry, and sends them to a design, inspection, or fabrication department in charge in a factory directly responsible for these contents.
(4) A person in charge in the factory confirms the contents of the request or the technical inquiry, and prepares the requested technical documents or an answer to the technical inquiry.
(5) The prepared technical documents or the answer to the technical inquiry is sent to the person in a charge in the technical department of the central office.
(6) Lastly, the technical documents or answer is sent to the user of the power plant via the person in a charge in the business department.
Thus, in the above-described conventional procedures, the request for the technical documents concerning the operation or the maintenance, or the inquiry concerning the technical items, are first sent to the business department. Further, the person in charge in each department selects the next person in charge, and sends the necessary information to the selected person in turn by means of visiting, telephoning, facsimile, or mailing.
As described above, to implement technical support for a user, technical information has been conventionally communicated in the form of documents such as technical documents, an inquiry paper, etc. Such as a communication means cannot quickly correspond with a request for technical support from a user. Therefore, quick and accurate technical support has been strongly desired.